Month: May 2010

Worship at Westminster

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Sunday I worshiped with part of our group at Westminster Chapel. We were given several choices and I chose to go to Westminster because Ed Stetzer was speaking. I was pleasantly surprised with the service.

I had expected a high church service with an older congregation. Instead we were greeted by people at the door and when we entered the chapel there was a praise band getting ready for the service. The leader was at a keyboard wearing short along with a couple of guitars and singers. They used a combination of hymns with updated accompaniment and choruses. The choruses were not new but they seemed to be fresh and nothing was done as a matter of habit.

Stetzer did a great job even though he preached a little shorter than the pastor usually does. From what I can surmise, the pastors here must preach for an hour as a matter of course. I don’t have a problem with that as long as he has something to say for that long, and from what I heard from some others in the group, they had hour long sermons but he may have had 15 minutes worth of materials.

Following the service we met in an art center lead by some IMB missionaries who are reaching to all types in the arts culture. They use the arts to build relationships with the community which gives them opportunity to speak into their lives. It is great to see people using their skills to reach out to people the traditional church seams to either forget or hold at arms length.

One of the major themes during this week had been how the church can be relevant to the culture they are trying to reach. For too long we have invited people into our culture, which for the most part the unchurched does not understand and we do not go out of our way to make it easy from them to enter. Being culturally relevant does not mean we compromise our beliefs or standards, but it does mean we seek to understand their viewpoint and do everything we can to meet them where they are.

I do not know the cultural norms of those around Westminster Chapel, but it appears they are reaching people. There were people from various races and age groups and they truly seemed excited about their gathering.

London at Last

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Well I am finally in my room in London. It took while to get from the airport to the hotel. It turns out the people who are supposed to know how to get from there to here (the hotel people at the airport) could use a little more study of their Tube system. It was not too bad, I had about a mile walk from the station they told me to exit, when it turns out there is a station across the street. Next time I will know to study up before I leave. There is a lot of interesting old buildings around and I hope to see more of it and post a few photos.

After getting here and sitting for a couple of minutes I went to get something to eat. It was amazing, on the way here I passed a few McDonalds, which one would expect, but when I went looking for something around here I found a Burger King (not a big shock), a Subway Sandwich shop (or is that shoppe here?), but most surprising was a Krispy Kreme store. I cannot get away from the evil red sign anywhere I go.

Right now I am going to take a shower, take a nap (it is surprising that only 30-45 minutes of sleep does not work for me anymore), and then go out later to see what there is to see around here. I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day for sightseeing before we get to the real purpose of the trip.

Getting Ready

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It is Sunday afternoon and I am getting ready to leave Tuesday for Philadelphia and then London. I am not sure exactly what to expect but I am looking forward to the adventure.
I will arrive in London on Wednesday morning and have two days before the real action begins. Beginning Friday we will spend the next eight days meeting church planters and others who are seeking to reach the cultures in London and Paris. From the little I have heard to this point it is difficult work with a very secular society. I hope to learn how churches in the US can partner with people and organizations in Europe.
I also believe I will be viewing the future of the US unless God works in the churches here to change the society.
On the 30th Tricia will join me in Paris where we will spend three night before going to London for a week. I am not sure what we will be doing but I am looking forward to spending time with her without the distractions of work, kids, and other responsibilities.
My plan is to update the site frequently, but we will see. I am only taking my iPad so we will see how it goes.